Atrial fibrillation, known as AFib, causes about 1 in 7 strokes in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many people who have it never notice.
The condition disrupts the top chambers of the heart, called the atria, so blood no longer flows smoothly to the rest of the body. When those chambers quiver instead of pump, clots can form and travel to the brain.
The CDC and the American Heart Association both note that AFib can be silent. Even when symptoms do appear, they are easy to write off as a bad night's sleep or a stressful week.
The eight warning signs to watch for
The CDC and the AHA list the same handful of complaints again and again in patients with AFib. Any of them, especially if they come in short episodes and then pass, is worth raising with a doctor.
Also read: Healthy body fat percentage by age and sex: what your number actually means
1. A racing, fluttering or pounding heartbeat. Palpitations are the classic sign. The AHA describes a quivering or fluttering heartbeat as the most common symptom.
2. An irregular pulse. The heart may skip, speed up or slow down at random. A persistently uneven beat is one of the core CDC symptoms of AFib and easy to blame on caffeine.
3. Extreme fatigue. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute calls fatigue the most common symptom of atrial fibrillation. When the atria quiver instead of pump, less blood reaches the body's tissues.
4. Shortness of breath. Breathlessness during light activity is on the AHA's symptom list, and patients often mistake it for anxiety. Climbing a flight of stairs and needing to stop halfway is a common trigger for a first appointment.
Also read: When your birth plan is ignored, your risk of PTSD after delivery may rise sharply
5. Dizziness or lightheadedness. A drop in effective blood flow can leave people feeling faint, especially when standing up quickly or walking upstairs.
6. Weakness. AFib can sap muscle strength. Some patients notice new fatigue during exercise they handled easily a month earlier.
7. Sweating. Sudden, unexplained sweating during an episode is on the AHA's symptom list. It often accompanies a racing heart and looks like anxiety.
8. Chest pain or pressure. This one is never to be brushed off. The AHA calls chest pain a medical emergency and advises calling 911, because it can signal a heart attack.
Also read: Ozempic may cut your asthma attack risk by nearly 40%
Why the diagnosis is often missed
The CDC notes that "some people who have AFib don't know they have it and don't have any symptoms." For that group, an AFib diagnosis often follows a stroke rather than a heart complaint.
That matters because AFib multiplies the danger of a clot forming in the fluttering atria and traveling to the brain. The CDC puts the risk of ischemic stroke at roughly five times higher in people with AFib than in people without it.
Strokes triggered by AFib also tend to be more severe than strokes from other causes, and they often lead to long-term disability.
What a check looks like
Diagnosis usually starts with an electrocardiogram, or EKG, which records the heart's electrical activity in a doctor's office. If a rhythm problem is suspected but does not show up on a single tracing, the NHLBI notes that Holter and event monitors can record the heart over longer periods during normal daily activities.
Also read: How to encourage your child to read more
Treatment then aims to control rate or rhythm, and blood thinners are often added to cut the risk of a stroke. Risk factors the CDC flags include high blood pressure, which alone accounts for about 1 in 5 cases, along with age, obesity, diabetes, heart failure, chronic kidney disease and heavy alcohol use.
Anyone noticing a persistent flutter, unexplained tiredness or breathlessness should book an appointment with a doctor and ask about an EKG. The CDC projects that 12.1 million Americans will be living with AFib by 2050.
Also read: These teenagers most likely to develop an eating disorder
This article is made and published by Mie Hermansen, who may have used AI in the preparation.